With THE MUPPETS about to (belatedly) open in the UK, Slow Robot looks back at Marvel's eighties Muppets and Jim Henson comic books.
THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
Marvel adapted the final movie in the original, unofficial, Muppet trilogy in the fall of 1984. As with many of Marvel's movie tie-ins of the era, it appeared as a three-issue limited series and as a collected one-shot Super Special magazine.
The comic book editions were the first to appear under the Star Comics banner, marking a soft launch of the young readers imprint.
There was no UK edition.
THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
ISSUE ONE
November 1984
Issue 1 splash page.
THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
ISSUE TWO
December 1984
THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
ISSUE THREE
January1985
MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL
ISSUE 33
MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE promoted the adaptation with an original cover and three page article.
MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE
ISSUE 17
August 1984
MOVIE TRAILER
THE DARK CRYSTAL
Jim Henson's puppet fantasy was adapted by Marvel in Super Special and limited series formats.
In the UK, the strip was serialised as a back-up feature in STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI weekly.
MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL
ISSUE 24
February 1983
Splash page
THE DARK CRYSTAL
ISSUE ONE
April 1983
THE DARK CRYSTAL
ISSUE TWO
May 1983
Movie trailer
LABYRINTH
Jim Henson's next non-Muppet fantasy movie, starring David Bowie, was, again, adapted by Marvel and issued as a one-shot Super Special and as a limited series in the regular comic book format.
There was no UK edition.
MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL
ISSUE 40
Splash page
LABYRINTH
ISSUE ONE
November 1986
LABYRINTH
ISSUE TWO
December 1986
LABYRINTH
ISSUE THREE
January 1987
MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE issue 43 ran a three page article to promote the adaptation:
MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE
ISSUE 43
October 1986
A fan-made trailer for the movie which isn't perfect but is good fun.
JIM HENSON'S MUPPET BABIES
Introduced, in puppet form, in THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN, it didn't take long for the junior Muppets to graduate to their own (Emmy Award Winning) animated series. As a co-production between Henson and Marvel Productions, it was logical that a comic book version should appear under Marvel's Star Comics banner.
It ran for 26 issues, ending in 1989.
Marvel UK issued a MUPPET BABIES ANNUAL prior to the UK premiere of the TV series and followed-up with a regular weekly, reprinting the US material. The back-up strip was, initially, FRAGGLE ROCK.
MUPPET BABIES
ISSUE ONE
May 1985
MUPPET BABIES title sequence
FRAGGLE ROCK
Another entry into the Star Comics line was Marvel's adaptation of the puppet series FRAGGLE ROCK.
The US edition lasted 8 issues, the last cover-dated September 1986.
In 1988, Marvel reissued some of the original Rock run under the main Marvel Comics brand (the Star Comics imprint having been abandoned at the beginning of 1988). This was, presumably, a low-cost way of capitalising on renewed interest in the property, either through reruns or the animated version.
The series, which aired on ITV in the UK, was interesting as Henson product it as a series of local co-productions, sharing the puppet sequences across all versions but adding country-specific live-action segments (usually involving Sprocket the dog) to the different versions. Henson's partner in the UK was the (now defunct) ITV broadcaster TVS.
The Marvel strips initially appeared in the UK as a back-up feature in the just-relaunched (for a younger audience) THE SPIDER-MAN COMIC. The same material later appeared in JIM HENSON'S MUPPET BABIES. A one-shot spring special reprinted US issue 5.
FRAGGLE ROCK
VOLUME ONE
ISSUE ONE
April 1985
FRAGGLE ROCK
VOLUME TWO
ISSUE ONE
1988
FRAGGLE ROCK TITLE SEQUENCE
US version
Slow Robot will have a lot more on Star Comics, and the Muppets at Marvel UK, in future editions.
